Georgina Gascoyne-Cecil, Marchioness of Salisbury

Georgina Charlotte Gascoyne-Cecil, Marchioness of Salisbury, (; 1827 – 20 November 1899) was a society hostess and the wife of British Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury. She was the eldest daughter of a judge. Her relative lack of wealth and social connections earned the disapproval of the 2nd Marquess of Salisbury; despite this, she married his son Robert in 1857.

Though the marriage was happy and grew to include eight children, Robert and Georgina's first years together were pinched financially. To supplement their income, Lady Georgina aided her husband as he contributed political articles to various newspapers. Their circumstances improved when Lord Robert became his father's heir in 1865, and in 1868 he inherited the Salisbury title. She hosted parties and receptions at Hatfield House and in London that aided his political career in the Conservative Party.

Family and early life Few biographical details have been published about Georgina Charlotte Alderson. Born in 1827, she was the eldest daughter of Sir Edward Hall Alderson (d. 1857), a judge. In 1834, he was made a Baron of the Exchequer. Her mother was Georgina Catherine Drewe (d. 1871), a daughter of the Reverend Edward Drewe of Broadhembury, Devonshire. The Aldersons had a large family.

Marriage On 11 July 1857, Georgina Alderson married Lord Robert Cecil, a younger son of James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury. The period leading up to the wedding was contentious. Georgina did not come from an aristocratic or wealthy background. She was also nearly thirty-years old, two years older than his son, and Lord Salisbury feared her ability to produce an heir. He tried to dissuade the union, and required them to remain separated for six months, hoping the match would end. This period did not lead to a dissolution of the relationship; instead, Lord Robert wrote to his father at the end of the break and said he was engaged to Georgina. The furious marquess considered disinheriting his son; after the wedding he and Robert became estranged.

A love match, the marriage would prove to be happy. Historians have described Georgina as clever, witty, and gregarious. In his entry for her husband in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Paul Smith describes Georgina as "a buoyant and forceful woman" who "share his intellectual interests and encourage and facilitate his career".

Their family grew quickly, beginning with the birth of a daughter within a year of their marriage. Seven children followed – five sons and three daughters in total. For eight years, they lived under pinched circumstances in various places within London and Surrey. The young couple had little income during their first years together; Georgina only had £100 a year, and he had a further £400 from his mother. From 1856 onward, Lord Robert supplemented their annual income by contributing political articles to such publications as the Saturday Review and the Quarterly Review. During this period, in addition to raising their growing family, she acted as her husband's literary assistant.

Marchioness of Salisbury The Cecils' lifestyle changed in 1865 upon the death of the Marquess of Salisbury's eldest son. Robert, now Viscount Cranborne, suddenly became the heir to his father's title and estates. A suitable allowance was provided for his large family. Lord Salisbury died on 22 August 1903, and was buried beside her at St Etheldreda's Church, Hatfield. She was a member of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert and the Order of the Crown of India.

Issue They had eight children:

Lady Beatrix Maud Gascoyne-Cecil (11 April 1858 – 27 April 1950), married William Waldegrave Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne Lady Gwendolen Gascoyne-Cecil (28 July 1860 – 28 September 1945), author, biographer of her father; unmarried James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury (1861–1947) Lord (Rupert Ernest) William Gascoyne-Cecil (1863–1936) (Edgar Algernon) Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood (1864–1958) Lady Fanny Georgina Mildred Gascoyne-Cecil (1865 – 24 April 1867), died as an infant Lord Edward Gascoyne-Cecil (1867–1918) Hugh Richard Heathcote Gascoyne-Cecil, 1st Baron Quickswood (1869–1956)